Targets and Allies

A direct target is the person or entity that has the power to grant our demands.  The direct target is often the key decision-maker in a company. It might be the chief of police, the chair of the local council, or a company CEO. It is important to be specific about your direct target. You may need to do additional research to determine who it is.

An indirect target is a person or entity who is in an important relationship with the direct target and who can help influence or persuade them to grant your demands.

For example, an indirect target might be a freight customer of a major shipping company with the direct target being the shipping company.

An indirect target is someone who may eventually become an adversary. An indirect target is not someone with whom you will want to share strategy. 

The diagram below is from the Turkey Motor Vehicle and Transport Union (Tumtis) campaign to organise non-union workers at DHL Turkey. 

The direct target of the campaign was the CEO of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, Frank Appel. The campaign required the Turkish workers to reach past their employer (DHL Turkey) above and beyond national borders to the entity that had the power to grant their demands, Deutsche Post.

In the diagram there are two key clusters of targets, one surrounding the German government (the majority shareholder in Deutsche Post) and the second focused on customers of DHL. Major pharmaceutical and automotive customers were involved in the dispute, as well as customers attending the DHL-sponsored London Fashion Week event. Other targets included the OECD, German embassies, and the European Commission.   

For more details about the Tumtis DHL campaign see:

https://www.itfglobal.org/en/training-education/developing-strategic-campaigns and

https://www.mua.org.au/sites/mua.org.au/files/old/DHL_tumtis_factsheet.pdf?1403725823

An ally is a person or entity who shares an interest in your organising campaign goals and who can influence or persuade a target to grant your demands. The difference between an ally and a target is that with an ally you want a positive relationship. You may want to share information about one or more of your campaign strategies with them.

Look for allies who can help you create the most impact on the direct or indirect targets. Understanding what is important to your targets will enable you to easily identify key allies.

The employer will expect you to have support from the ‘usual’ allies, the community groups and politicians who always support unions. Whenever possible, look for strategic allies who are not the ‘usual suspects’, but who share your interests, and who can have an impact on your targets.

The diagram below is from a contract campaign of the LAN Peru aviation mechanics. The direct target was the CEO of LAN & TAM Airlines. The company did not expect the small aviation mechanics union to have this level of international union support and the ability to affect flight cancellations and delays in a number of countries important to the airline. Passengers, travel agencies and sports fans were key allies in the contract campaign. The red circles are union allies and green circles are customers and service-user allies.  

For more details about the LAN Peru aviation mechanics campaign see:

https://www.itfglobal.org/en/training-education/developing-strategic-campaigns and

https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/13817.pdf

Allies can help you in many different ways. With some you will develop deep working relationships, and with others you might only ask for something as simple as a signature or phone call.

Survey workers to find out what community, environmental justice, church, social clubs or political groups they are members of or active in.

Make sure you know as much as possible about your allies. Know their priorities and what goals they share with you. Be clear about what you are asking for and what kind of relationship you are seeking. You might want to start by asking for something small and increase what you ask for as your relationship builds. Learn to look beyond your own issues, priorities and timeframes to learn about the priorities of your allies.

Sometimes targets and allies can look similar.

For example, the Catholic Church could be an ally, an indirect target or a direct target. If the Catholic Church becomes your adversary in your organising campaign they are a target, either your main direct target that can grant your demands, or an indirect target. If the Catholic Church shares some of your interests and you would want to share your strategy with them, they are your allies.

Regulatory agencies such as port state control bodies might be allies or targets depending on your campaign. Employers can also be your allies in some campaigns, particularly employers that are unionised with good working conditions.

It is important to know the difference between allies and targets because you do not want to treat an ally as a target or vice versa. However, always be prepared for the real possibility that an ally might turn into a target in the future or vice versa.